ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS

Nature's Classroom

Nature's Classroom offers a unique educational experience to 5th grade students and their teachers. The goal of Nature's Classroom is to create a living-learning community that integrates the social development of that community with academic experiences. Common goals that are woven throughout the experience are for the student to improve his/her self-concept; to work together with others for the positive benefit of all members of the community; to recognize the community is comprised of individuals with their own individual needs; to appreciate the individuality and uniqueness of each other; to gain an understanding of what education can offer him/her. The process begins when teachers volunteer to bring their students to Nature's Classroom. Each Nature's Classroom program is developed in consultation with the classroom teachers in order to create an experence that is connected to the school's curriculum and goals.

Summer Reading Program

The goal of the PMA Summer Reading Program is to instill a love of reading and develop positive reading attitudes. Students in Grades 1 - 3 are given a list of books they may want to try over the summer. Students in Grades 4 - 8 are given specific book titles and assignments to complete by the first week of school. Many of the books chosen are part of the literature program at PMA.

All students keep track of their summer reading titles on a door knob hanger that goes home at the end of school. The students bring in their hanger in September and they receive one ticket for the first eight books that they read. They may read more. The students use their tickets in the Summer Reading Raffle to win prizes. The total number of books are tallied for the entire school Summer Reading Program.

Click here to see the Summer Reading List for all grades

Science Fair Program

At PMA, Science is one subject all students love. Studying science is more than just learning from a book. It is about exploring, experimenting and learning more about the Scientific Method.

1st Grade Students explore these three areas of science: Animals, Habitats and Space. The students choose an area of interest, research and create a display to share their new science knowledge. The first grade science fair is held in the month of March.

The 5th grade students spend a great deal of time learning the fundamentals of a the Scientific Method. They choose a topic to explore and then step-by step they research their topic, develop a hypothesis, and write procedures to test their hypothesis, They will then test their hypothesis, organize their data, and state their conclusions. The final step is to create an science fair board that displays their problem and communicates the results to others. The 5th Grade Science Fair is held the second week of May.

The first week of May is the time for the Annual Science Fair for 6th, 7th & 8th Graders at PMA! The 6th Graders begin the event with their exploration of the Scientific Method, exposing the data and graphs which illustrate the results of the experiments. They followed through to solve a problem, after doing research, and forming a hypothesis.

The 7th and 8th graders, follow with more in depth knowledge, which is tested by several outside judges, who determine the 1st, 2nd & 3rd place trophy winners.

Science Fair Links

www.schooldiscovery.com/sciencefaircentral www.ipl.org/youth/projectguide
www.homeorkspot.com/sciencefair
www.stemnet.nf.ca/sciencefairs/elem.html
(This site above does not give detailed experiments, but does have a nice list of ideas to explore.)
www.sciencemadesimple.com/science.html

You can always go to the search engine such as Google.com to find additional sites

Book Suggestions

A Guide to the Best Science Fair Projects, by Janice Van Cleave.

The Complete Science Fair Handbook, by Anthony D. Fredericks and Isaac Asimov.

The following web site has an extensive listing of books:
www.amasci.com/amateur/sciexp.txt

DARE Program

Content to come.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Girl Scout Program

Girl Scouting is committed to helping all girls from every background to develop the confidence, determination, and skills needed to thrive in today's world. There is one Girl Scout program that is based on the Girl Scout Promise and Law. It is adapted to meet the developmental, educational, emotional, and social needs and interests of girls at five levels: 5-17 or from kindergarten through twelfth grade.

There are 2 Brownie Troops and 2 Junior Troops that meet once a week at Presentation of Mary Academy during the school year. There is also a Daisy Troop that meets every other week. More information can be obtained from the school office or the Swift Water Girl Scout Council Office in Manchester, NH - Tel: (603) 627-4158.

FIRST LEGO League

The FIRST Lego League is for kids between the ages of 9 and 14. Each team uses lego building bricks and other elements to build a robot which provides them with hands-on experience in engineering, programming, cooperation, and teamwork. They also research a topic and present their findings along with an innovative solution to a panel of judges in local and state competitions.

In 2005 the PMA team placed second in a local competition and did very well in the state competition. PMA Coach Mr. D even won the Outstanding Coach Award! This year the team won the First Place Team Work Award at the Regional Lego League Competition and will go on to the State Competition.

Visit The PMA Lego Team Page for more information about this program and to see some great pictures of the 2005-2006 Team.

Battle of the Books

Battle of the Books is a reading incentive program designed to improve reading comprehension. Students from Grades 4 and 5 form teams, divide up a reading list of 10 books and read from November - April. Teams meet in competition in April for the final battle. A Questioner and timer will ask questions like, "In which book does a character drink the poisoned medicine meant for someone else?" The top scoring team is the school champion.

The books are carefully selected to include some below grade level to entice reluctant readers and some above grade level to interest above average students. The majority of the books are on grade level.

This reading program will focus on team building, collaboration with librarian/student/teachers, promotion of literature, competition with a focus on academics, and building school spirit.

PMA Choir

The Choir is open to students in grades 5 - 8. Mrs. Kathleen McLean is Choir Director. Rehearsals are held after school once a week. The Choir learns music in 2 or 3 parts and performs for the school and the surrounding community.

For more information, check out the Music Page

PMA Drama Club

The PMA Drama Club is open to students in Grades 6 - 8. Rehearsals are held after school. Students will be asked to audition for key roles and there are many opportunities to work on scenery and lighting. The Drama Club will perform during the schoolday for the school community and at night for parents.

For more information, check out the Art and Drama Page

Rainbows For All God's Children

Rainbows for All God's Children is a non-profit international organization providing support to children who are experiencing grief from a divorce or death of a loved one. Rainbows is a support group consisting of 3 - 5 children of the same age who are suffering from a loss. The groups are lead by trained facilitators and provide support as well as healing. The groups last 12 weeks. The children meet once a week after school for approximately 30 minutes. If you have a need for this wonderful program, please contact our school coordinators Kim Polombo or Julie LaMontagne . Click here for an enrollment form.

Spelling Bee

PMA Students in Grades 5 - 8 participate in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. The purpose of the spelling bee is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.

Students will compete and send one student representative from their homeroom to the school-wide Spelling Bee. The winner of the PMA Spelling Bee will then prepare for the next level -- state-wide Spelling Bee. This program is sponsored by The Manchester Union Leader Newspaper.